Spawn: Homestretch

Sometimes it a battle just to achieve the starting line.

This year, the struggle has felt more manageable –– after all, it's my favorite skipper's fourth time to do this kooky 300-mile adventure that they call the Everglades Challenge. 
 
But there are piles of gear and supplies that need to be tucked into the boat, and safety equipment to double-check, and the odd modification to test. 

The time has flown, but here we are again.  Jeff and Jahn Tihansky –– their Tribe names are TwoBeers and Moresailesaid –– will be pushing off the beach of Fort Desoto tomorrow morning at sunrise.

Literally pushing off the beach, as the race begins at the high tide mark of the beach and finishes off the dock of a little motel on the bay side of Key Largo.  They have three check-points along the way, and the race is human powered: so they can row as well as sail, and if they need to (knock wood no!) they can push the boat by brute leg force.

Because a restive boat might find itself all topsy-turvy when things go bad, we put on a sort of water-wing atop the mast. In the unhoped-for event that Spawn tips, the floaty prevents boat from turning turtle.

We put the Eyes of Horus on the job –– a little superstition goes a long way around here. 

We also have temporary tattoos to celebrate the launch. So far, the tats have proven very temporary. I MIGHT not have quite read the directions.  Darned old "reading comprehension."

So anyway, there are at least two ways to track the team as they sprint (we hope sprint, not claw) down the west coast of Florida.  

​Click on either of the two images below to check on them.

Crossing fingers, knocking wood...